Edi Rama: "If Europe Decides Not To Need Muslim Balkan States, Terrible Things Will Happen"

Published: Yesterday; 12:12 · (FriedlNews)

The Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama visited the Bruno Kreisky Forum in Vienna.

Edi Rama: "The system is grabbing the people; therefore the system needs to be changed." / Picture: © FriedlNews Prime Minister Rama visited Vienna to meet with high-level authorities to assure them of future cooperation and support for Albania's accession to the EU.

At the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialog Franz Vranitzky, Honorary President of the Forum and former Austrian Federal Chancellor welcomed him. Vranitzky is a deserved Albania expert. After leaving office, he served as Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe representative for Albania from March to October 1997.

In addition, Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies/CLS in Sofia, and Permanent Fellow at the IWM Institute of Human Sciences has been present.

When arguing for Albania’s European Renaissance, Edi Rama stated, "The EU is the crucial objective".

"We cannot have a strong economy without a strong society, and we cannot have a strong society without a strong economy." Both sectors must be developed side by side.

Several indices show that Albania is Europe's most corrupt country. Edi Rama believes that the system must be changed, not the people. When asked about corruption, he said that under the same system "Austrians and Albanians would behave the same". "The system is grabbing the people; therefore the system needs to be changed."

"The number one reason why the year 2014 is the first year in the past 100 years that in Albania there is no violent conflict, is not that overnight the Albanian leaders turned into angels, but the Albanian perspective towards Europe."

Therefore, Europe's leaders must undertake everything to grant Albania candidate status without undue delay. "If Europe decides not to need Muslim Balkan states, terrible things will happen!"

About the Accession of Albania to the European Union

Officially recognised by the EU as a "potential candidate country" in 2000, Albania started negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in 2003. This was successfully agreed and signed on 12 June 2006, thus completing the first major step toward Albania's full membership in the EU. Albania applied for European Union membership on 28 April 2009.

Following the steps of the recently admitted Eastern European countries in 2004, Albania has been extensively engaged with EU institutions, and joined NATO as a full member in 2009. It has also maintained its position as a stability factor and a strong ally of Western Europe in the troubled and divided region of the Balkans.

Following its application for EU membership, the Council of the European Union asked the European Commission on 16 November 2009 to prepare an assessment on the readiness of Albania to start accession negotiations, a step in the accession process that usually takes about a year. On 16 December 2009, the European Commission submitted the Questionnaire on accession preparation to the Albanian government. Albania returned answers to them on 14 April 2010.

In 5 December 2013, an MEP meeting recommended to the Council to grant Albania candidate status without undue delay.